Qatar 2022 Qualifiers: Pedro Gallese and the WhatsApp discussion with the South American captains by current format

The Qatar 2022 Qualifiers are close to coming to an end. This Tuesday, March 29, the four and a half places that CONMEBOL has to send its representatives to the World Cup could be defined. However, the process that has been going on for approximately two and a half years has caused some discomfort to the captains of the countries of this part of the continent, which includes Pedro Gallese, goalkeeper of the Peruvian selection.

The reason? The referents of each team would be included in a WhatsApp group where they would discuss, among other issues, the long journeys and the duration of the qualifying process itself. The change of format would be a solution to return to the two-group dispute as was the case before the 1998 Qualifiers for France.

This information was collected by the Brazilian portal Globo Esporte, where he released statements by Thiago Silva, captain of the 'Scratch', about the time it takes for the trips to the qualifying matches, since most of them come from Europe and travel for long hours. This is unlike the Europeans themselves, who, having everything close (both clubs and national teams), have to travel only a few hours. “It's not just 18 games, but the trips we make. That's a lot of mileage compared to Europeans who play close together and with little transfer. That's a lot of wear and tear, besides the weather, totally different from Europe,” commented the Chelsea defender from England.

He also asked that consideration be given to how to shorten the classification process in order to compensate for the long time spent on an airplane. In this way, avoid less physical exertion than they have been doing. “If we could somehow find a balance on these trips, it would certainly make our stay and our performances easier. It's definitely a wear and tear, in my opinion, unnecessary,” he added.

On the other hand, Marcelo Martins, forward and captain of Bolivia, also joined this request, but clarified that the final decision would come from FIFA. “We had a meeting with FIFA and it looks like there will be a change in the format of the Qualifiers. Who am I to change this? The order comes from above. FIFA is the one who decides, but I think it's good, valid, it's going to be interesting, because the players won't be traveling long and returning to the national teams,” said the current Cerro Porteño attacker.

The list of captains of the South American teams is as follows:

. Pedro Gallese (Perú)

. Lionel Messi (Argentina)

. Thiago Silva (Brazil)

. Diego Godin (Uruguay)

. Claudio Bravo (Chile)

. David Ospina (Colombia)

. Enner Valencia (Ecuador)

. Gustavo Gomez (Paraguay)

. Tomas Rincon (Venezuela)

. Marcelo Martins (Bolivia)

It should be noted that this WhatsApp group was created in the preview of the Copa America Brazil 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic was on the rise in that country and there were doubts about its development. Although they finally got to play it with strict biosecurity measures to prevent contagion.

PERUVIAN NATIONAL TEAM CASE

And it is that there is not only one drawback for those arriving from Europe. In the case of Peru, it has 3 players who play in the Middle East. André Carrillo and Christian Cueva in Saudi Arabia, while Wilder Cartagena plays in the United Arab Emirates. They make trips of approximately 17 hours to come to Lima and meet with the Peruvian delegation prior to the qualifying matches. In addition, it must be borne in mind that they must then adapt to the change of schedule and be able to digest the 'jet lag' as much as possible. Not to mention that they then have 3 days concentrated with the national team, where they must give their best effort with their five senses to the limit.

Likewise, in the last year, CONMEBOL determined that two triple dates will be played in the months of September and October, a fact that hurt not only the players, but also the national teams and the clubs themselves, as many arrived injured on their return due to the enormous physical wear they did in a short time.

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